Long-long ago during the reign of Caliph Harun-Al-Rashid, there lived a poor porter in the city of Baghdad. The porter’s name was Hindbad. Despite his hard life, he was happy and satisfied.
One day, Hindbad was going with a big load on his head. Suddenly the rain lashed and Hindbad rushed to a nearby house to take shelter. It was a sprawling beautiful house. Hindbad sat in a shed and waited for the rain to stop. While sitting there, he was enchanted by the soft melodious music and the rich soothing fragrance of perfume coming from inside.
The beautiful house and its visible luxury caused a tinge of sadness in the heart of the poor porter. He exclaimed loudly, “Why am I poor and why do I lead such a hard life? Whereas, a few others are rolling in the wealth. Why is this discrepancy? Am I not a good person?”
The owner of the house, whose name was Sindbad, overheard the poor porter’s disappointed utterances. He at once sent his servant to call Hindbad inside. When the porter came in, Sindbad offered him a seat with a kind smile.
The house was much more luxurious from inside. Sindbad offered rich meal to the poor porter. After the meal, Sindbad asked pointedly, “Now tell me, why were you expressing resentment at your fate?”
“Sir, when I saw your splendid life, I felt dejected. My poor fate annoyed me and so I expressed my resentment,” said Hindbad.
Sindbad said, “You have every right to think like this at this moment. However, I would like to tell you the story of my adventurous life. The dangers I faced during my bold and dreaded acts. The gravest risk I undertook to earn so much of wealth.”
Sindbad then narrated to Hindbad his various adventurous trips through which he could heap up enormous wealth.
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